Tag Archives: Las Vegas

Can you feel it? Are you ready? In less than seven weeks, hundreds of teams will descend upon Vegas, many with hangovers from the revelry of the night before. Right now, everyone has that tingle. Everyone is undefeated. Everyone can dream of that glorious moment when Billy shakes you and your partner’s hand and presents you with a giant check. Whether it’s your first World Series or your ninth, those butterflies are in your stomach and you can’t wait to find out what the pong gods will bring your way on January 1st.

But hold up. Do you really think you’re going to win WSOBP 9? The answer might very well be a “HELL YEAH!” The answer you’d give could also be “Of course not.” That’s the point. This game is for the so-called “pros” that travel across the country routinely to compete. This game is also for the husband and wife who are at the WSOBP as part of their New Year’s vacation. Or for the friends who haven’t seen each other in a while but used to run the plywood tables together in college. This game is for everyone. The enjoyment that is provided by the game we all love is evident in both victory and defeat. We’re all lucky to be able to experience it, especially on as grand a scale as the World Series of Beer Pong.

It’s true, however, that the only constant is change. This year, while the Center of the Beer Pong Universe will once again have a latitude and longitude that leads you to the familiar Flamingo Hotel, some things will be different. No beer in the cups this year. It’s a logistical nightmare, and takes way too much time and coordination by WSOBP staff. Time better served to make sure that dude mean mugging you doesn’t cross the plane while you’re shooting, or move past his side of the table to get in your face.

We’ve compiled a general list of reasons why we have decided to forego beer in the cups this year.

You may not see all the events you’re used to this year. You may see new ones you’ll come to love just as much, if not more.

All we ask is that you remain patient as we try to create the best experience possible while not over-extending the company’s future growth potential. Television deals, major cross promotion agreements, and bigger and better events are all within reach. We need our foundation to be rock solid as those next great steps are taken.

Organizers throughout the country have seriously stepped up. We have Skype tournaments, local satellite events and a multitude of weekly tournaments that continue to bring new players into the beer pong community. We’re encouraged by the continued growth of pong in new areas, and the veterans who are willing to provide guidance to the others willing to be tournament organizers. New initiatives like BPONG’s tournament software and national program structure will make it much easier for brackets to be run well, and run quickly.

Before you arrive in Vegas this year, take a minute to reflect on the work so many did before you (or with you) that has enabled a record ninth World Series of Beer Pong. It’s a significant achievement that can and should be appreciated by all. It’s up to every one of us to keep the game going. As a community, we want a 10th WSOBP and many more after that.

I’ve been to Las Vegas almost a dozen times now. More than half of those times I’ve made that trek it has been to attend the World Series of Beer Pong. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always a great time. As the December days pass and New Year’s Day approaches, I get more and more excited for five days of heartache and punishing my body.

Las Vegas is, at least to me, starting to lose a little bit of its luster. This may be more common for West Coast players or those in or near Vegas, but unheard of for most East Coast residents. I usually look at the WSOBP as a business trip. I know I will have fun, but I also know it’s going to be all about beer pong, all of the time. I still have that mindset even though I know I have only the slightest chances of winning. For the elite guys who are expecting to legitimately win, it’s probably even worse. I used to tell my fellow players considering trips out there not to bring their girlfriends. There just isn’t much time to be a “tourist” in Vegas. If you still have energy at the end of Day 1, you’re doing it wrong. Or you’re just a lot younger than I am.

I’ve never been to Las Vegas in the summertime. I’m almost always there in the winter, or early in the spring. If I do manage to leave the casino and walk the strip, it’s usually cold as shit outside. I see the pictures of Las Vegas online with the pool bars and girls in bikinis, and I think to myself, why can’t they have the World Series of Beer Pong in July? Flights are cheaper, the weather is nicer, and a lot of us have vacation time to spare.

Well, BPONG did us one better with the first ever Masters of Beer Pong™ tournament. You can’t even be disappointed that they are not offering the same prize pool as the World Series of Beer Pong since they just went ahead and bumped it up to a cool $100,000. Not to mention, the whole thing is taking place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Not a bad way to spend the Fourth of July, huh?

Years back, there was a Summer Beer Pong Cup that was held in Negril, Jamaica for two glorious years. Due to a variety of reasons that I am not at liberty to discuss, the event was cancelled after its second year. I only went that second year, but it was some of the most fun I ever had playing beer pong, and the beer pong was the smallest part of what made it a great time. I was really hoping BPONG would do something like this somewhere down the line.

While all the week’s events have yet to be announced, from the sounds of things it sounds like it’s going to be an awesome time. Since we all have to put up with guys like Ron Hamilton taking their shirts off, why not have it be poolside in Vegas? See you guys in July!